Sicilians 101
Up-to-date evidence refuting claims that Sicilians are African or Arab due to heavy mixing with "black" Moors or other non-Europeans, and showing that they're genetically and phenotypically similar to other Italians.
- Sicilians Only Have 3.8% Moorish Admixture
- Sicilians Only Have ~1% Black Admixture
- The Mediterranean Sea Is a Genetic Barrier
- Sicilians Look Just Like Other Italians
Sicilians Only Have 3.8% Moorish Admixture
The Moors were Arab-Berber Caucasoids, not black as is often claimed, but Sicilians only have a small amount of Moorish admixture anyway, because the Moors were expelled from Sicily and Southern Italy.
Sicilians Only Have ~1% Black Admixture
Badly designed studies have overestimated African admixture in Italy, but based on a large set of DNA markers, Sicilians have less African admixture (orange) than Northern Europeans have Asian admixture (pink).
The Mediterranean Sea Is a Genetic Barrier
Sicilians cluster with other Italians and Europeans, not with Arabs or Africans, because the Mediterranean Sea has been a strong genetic barrier (thick red lines) since ancient times.
Sicilians Look Just Like Other Italians
In these facial composites of randomly selected Italian models, politicians and soccer players, the Sicilians on the left look no different than the Northern Italians on the right.
